Justice Minister Judith Collins says the latest Justice sector Better Public Services results for reducing crime and re-offending, are the best quarterly results since the targets were set.

The Better Public Services (BPS) targets set a goal of a 15 per cent reduction in total crime by June 2017, compared to baseline figures from June 2011.

“It’s fantastic news that our latest Justice sector BPS results show the total crime rate has reduced by 14 per cent between June 2011 and December 2013,” says Ms Collins.

“The latest results for this period also show the youth crime rate has dropped by 27 per cent, violent crime is down 10 per cent and overall re-offending is down by 11.7 per cent.“New Zealand now has the lowest crime rate since 1978 but most importantly, the results mean New Zealanders are experiencing around 56,000 fewer crimes a year, leading to fewer victims of crime.

“The BPS youth crime target has now been exceeded for a second time. We have almost met our total crime target and we’re halfway to meeting both the violent crime and re-offending targets – with more than three years to go.

The drop in youth crime and re-offending is especially important. This is one of the more important government goals, and it is good to see the progress being made.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2014 at 10:00 am and is filed under NZ Politics.
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It is a win/win situation for the government.
Less crime = look what a great job we are doing!
Less crime = less work for the court system = less delays = look what a great job we are doing!
Less crime = less costs!

Wow so Katie actually opposes people having rights to their ancestoral land after all ! I think Maori living overseas should be allowed to come back home and take over land occupied by colonists and their fake country of New Zealandstine

Technology has a large part to do with detering crims. Esp car theft because of detectors able to track vehicles when stolen. The National Party can’t be allowed to take credit for the way of the world

Viking: You are quite right about burglary…which is the very reason ACT is proposing to extend a 3S regime to that crime.

As Jamie Whyte has pointed out, burglary is very much a deliberately planned crime – it has to be. You cant just decide while walking home one night to burglar number 24. You need tools, something to carry the loot in, and preferably some means of getting away from the scene. If you already have form you need gloves to stop you leaving fingerprints and some sort of generic clothing – like overalls – to minimise leaving other forensic evidence.

The UK apparently has a 3S burglary regime of the type ACT is promoting – and burglary has dropped 35% since it was introduced. I have little doubt the same would happen here…three years without parole is a reasonably stiff sentence, and not one Bob the Burglar is going to want to do – especially not more than once.

A bunch of yobs at the end of our street were firing massive show grade fireworks late last year, and then they fired one AT our neighbour when she went out to give them a bollocking. So we called the New Zealand Police, and they immediately transferred our call to the South Wairarapa District Council (this was about 00:30 at night) as they “didn’t consider it a police matter.”

Obviously no-one was manning the council phone at 00:30 so we called the New Zealand Police again, this time they didn’t even answer the phone.

Just last week another bunch of yobs saw our friend around the corner standing in the window of her house with her baby, so they pointed and started throwing rocks at the house, she had to put her baby down and chase them away. I think a woman cop actually asked her a few questions about that incident.

New Zealand Police aren’t even resourced enough / bothered enough to respond to groups of youths armed with rocks or explosive devices threatening or assaulting persons and property.

So I have next to no faith that New Zealand Police will ever do much about theft/burglary.

If you encounter a burglar or any kind of violent offender on your property, you should shoot him, it’s the only safe course of action for you and your family. The New Zealand Police aren’t interested. You’ll probably go to jail for doing a bad thing but at least your nearest and dearest will be ok.

RRM: As an officer of the Court I could not possibly countenance shooting of burglars…but I share your view that the Police have other things that receive their attention …it is even worse for us rural dwellers…..while I was an MP the local liquor shop got held up by someone with a gun…the owner’s wife- who speaks very poor English – finally got through to the 111 operator what was happening…a car was dispatched, but never arrived..apparently the cop in the car was new, and the Navman or whatever device he was using gave the wrong directions to our little village…

At a meeting with the Area Commander which I arranged there was lots of “Ni Hao” ing, but bugger all by way of reasonable explanation.

DPF – on what do you base the statement you made in the first comment?

[DPF: No. The decision to warn, not arrest, has no impact on crime figures]

I know for a fact that it is incorrect. In certain areas the police will target particular types of crimes, whilst ‘warning’ on others – the warnings are often not even noted, (“move along or else”, “do it again and..” etc) let alone recorded and therefore DO NOT make it into the crime stats.

What I am saying is that if certain crimes are low priority they are NOT even recorded as crimes – hence the crime rate reduces. For example, in 2012 in this area there was a determined effort to cop the taggers. That focus was not applied in 2013 and the crime stats for tagging in this area dropped by 87% !!!

Great effort by the government – NOT – because the taggers were just as active! The crime still occurs – sometimes increases, but because it gets no attention, or little attention, its not recorded.

If you want to drop the crime rate to impress voters in an election year, just don’t record as many crimes! Simple!

reduce the crime rate by allowing legal highs, and then you don’t have as many arrests for cannabis etc … people still whacked outta their brains, but its not a crime anymore – at least not an official crime, but certainly not a good thing!

There is no doubt that crime stats can easily be massaged…either by changing how they are recorded or not recording them at all…or by policy changes such as taking drunk youths home rather than putting them in a cell to sober up.

That is why I am always much more interested in the VIOLENT crime figures…there is no underreporting of murder, aggravated robbery, or assaulting with intent to wound. It is the 10% fall in those crimes that I am most encouraged by.

I heard the PM this am acknowledging in his somewhat tortuous language that most crime In NZ is committed by a fairly small number of criminals…this is where 3S will really hit over the coming years: more and more of the prison population will be strike offenders serving sentences at strikes 2 and 3. By reason of their incarceration those mongrels will be unable to commit violent offences for longer and longer periods. I see a 25% decrease in violent offending over the next 10 years – but only if 3S stays in force, which means we must not and cannot have a Green/Labour/Mana government.

How come on the watch of Minister for CORRUPTION (oops!) Justice, Judith Collins , New Zealand has STILL not ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)?

How come Minister for CORRUPTION (oops!) Justice, Judith Collins promised Transparency International last year, that her ‘Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill’ would be presented to Parliament in 2013, and it STILL has yet to surface in the NZ Parliamentary legislation ‘sausage machine’?

Ten years after signing UNCAC in 2003, New Zealand appears almost ready to ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption. New Zealand’s failure for a decade to take action to ratify the UN Convention disappointing for a country that prides itself on its clean international image. TINZ has actively encouraged ratification for the last 10 years as noted in our letter to several ministers in August.

In a much welcomed development in a letter to Transparency International New Zealand dated 7 August 2013, the Hon Judith Collins, Minister of Justice, states that she has “announced a package of legislative reforms that will allow New Zealand to ratify UNCAC.”

The necessary amendments to make New Zealand’s domestic law compliant with the treaty obligations will be included in the Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Bill. Once passed, the minister has confirmed that “officials will promptly take steps to deposit New Zealand’s instrument of ratification of UNCAC.”

Has Transparency International New Zealand had anything to say about the recent developments involving Minister for CORRUPTION (oops!) Justice, Judith Collins and her (in my considered opinion) CORRUPT conflict of interest, in TOADYING for her friends and husband’s private company – Oravida?